If a hierarchy exists to the reputations I have highlighted so far
this month, trustworthiness would surely be near, if not at, the
top of the list. Trust, as I have written in Career Opportunities
before, is one of the most critical elements of any successful career.
Without trust it is nearly impossible to achieve anything. You must
trust others, they must trust you and you all must trust yourselves
in order for everyone to thrive.
If your time is spent worrying whether your co-workers will do
what they have said they would, you will have great difficulty
accomplishing
anything yourself. If you do not deliver on your commitments, then
those around you will find their effectiveness crippled. Lack of
trust is an insidious beast, roaming our lives and insuring that
no one moves forward.
As with many issues in our careers and in our lives, we must seek
to understand ourselves better before we can ever hope to understand
others. If we look deeply at our own reputation for trustworthiness,
what do we see? Do we follow through on commitments? Do we keep
our promises to others?...to ourselves? If not, you need to examine
the
cause. Do you feel you can trust no one, so therefore you need
not be trustworthy yourself? I know I have met a few people like
this
in the past. Truth, to them, is a fluid concept, subjective,
without any concrete meaning. They tell whatever truth will gain
them the
greatest advantage at the moment, without regard to others. They
will often lie outright, it if suits their purposes.
While I doubt that any of you fall into such a dubious category,
lack of trustworthiness can manifest itself in subtler ways.
Often, we display our lack through missed or ignored promises.
Nothing
demonstrates trustworthiness more clearly than our ability
to fulfill our promises
and commitments to others and ourselves. If we fail to deliver,
those around us will quickly learn that we are not to be trusted.
Conversely,
if you want to demonstrate your trustworthiness, keep your
commitments religiously. Don't make promises you cannot keep
and, if problems
arise, renegotiate your promises and commitments so that those
around can plan accordingly.
Of course, what happens when you are confronted with untrustworthy
people as co-workers, managers or clients? First, you can attempt
to help them change. Remember, though, that you cannot force them
to change. They have to come to the realization that they are being
untrustworthy and adjust their behavior accordingly. If someone
is making unrealistic promises, help them to adjust their outlook.
Often,
especially in younger people, they are too eager to please and
therefore make commitments they cannot keep.
You can see this frequently in young workers , working perhaps
their first or second jobs. Rather than risk offending their
boss, they
will agree to impossible deadlines and deliverables that they have
no way of achieving. Of course, when they fail to deliver, it has
exactly the opposite effect they wanted to achieve. Now their manager
will feel that they can no longer trust them. In an effort to please,
they have damaged their career much worse than if they had negotiated
a longer deadline or less ambitious plan.
Worst of all, trust is fragile beyond belief. There are no second
warnings when trust is violated. In some cases, you might be fired
at the first signs. Instinctively, people know that trust is so
important that any transgression, no matter how small, is dangerous
to everyone
involved. This is why you need to guard against any sign of untrustworthiness,
from the very beginning of your career. If those around you feel
they can't trust you, your job and career are in grave danger.
Let this lack of trust spill over into your life and even larger
problems
are sure to occur. Trustworthy people are given the benefit of
the doubt when untoward events occur. Untrustworthy ones are
the first
in line to be fired. It is easy to see on which side of that equation
you want to fall.
Without trust, all other reputations have no foundation, no place
to stand. Trust is so integral to our work and life that, without
this underpinning, you will find yourself struggling, no matter
how amazing your knowledge, skills or other stellar reputations.
Take
trust to heart and understand it has the ability to directly and
critically effect the success of your career.
Career
Opportunities
